Run, Hide, Fight Back

by April Henry

Overview

Six teens must band together to survive after a shooting breaks out in Run, Hide, Fight Back a high-stakes thriller by New York Times bestselling author April Henry.

When a deadly shooting breaks out in a Portland shopping mall, a diverse group of teens ends up trapped behind a store’s security shutter. To her own surprise, seventeen-year-old Miranda finds the others looking to her as their leader. But she’s hiding a big secret—and she’s not the only one. The group has only three choices: Run, hide, or fight back. The wrong decision will have fatal consequences.

In her masterful style, April Henry crafts an unrelenting thriller with empowering teen heroes. For fans of the breakout YA mysteries This Is Where It Ends and One of Us Is Lying.

Christy Ottaviano Books

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250308962
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	01/19/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	55,476
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

April Henry is the New York Times-bestselling author of many acclaimed mysteries for adults and young adults, including the YA novels Girl, Stolen and The Night She Disappeared and the thriller Face of Betrayal, co-authored with Lis Wiehl. She lives in Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

A YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant YA Readers
A Publishers Lunch YA Fall Buzz Book

"Well-done character development, even pacing, and the gripping premise will keep teens turning pages. VERDICT Purchase multiple copies of this timely thriller."—School Library Journal

"A breathless, suspenseful read. The title alone will grab readers, and the content feels chillingly real."—Booklist

From the Publisher

04/01/2018
Gr 7 Up—The author brings to life modern-day teen concerns in this suspense-filled depiction of an active shooter situation. Through the perspectives of six main characters, the story touches on current issues for teens, including religion, drug use, immigration, cancer, guns, and families. Miranda, the main character, kicks off the story, shoplifting as the shooting at a Portland shopping mall begins. As the narrative evolves, so do the characters, and their relationships to one another. They set aside their differences as their common goal of survival brings them together. Well-done character development, even pacing, and the gripping premise will keep teens turning pages. VERDICT Purchase multiple copies of this timely thriller.—Margo Fryling, Eastvalley Elementary School, Marietta, GA

School Library Journal

2019-07-13
A shooting breaks out inside a Portland, Oregon, mall, leaving many people dead and the remaining survivors as hostages of a right-wing American terrorist group with an anti-government agenda.

Six teens successfully hide inside empty shops while the deadly situation unfolds, but soon they must decide whether to remain hidden, run, or fight back. The better-developed characters, who are all white, are wrestler Parker Gray, troubled drug addict Miranda Nash, cancer patient Grace Busby (who sees her mother die in front of her eyes), and ultraconservative conspiracy theorist Cole Bond. Meanwhile, two nonwhite characters—undocumented Mexican immigrant Javier Ramirez and the Somali American hijabi Amina Abdi—remain superficial stereotypes. Told in real time as it happens, the novel starts with alternating viewpoint chapters from all the teenagers, yet, bafflingly, two, Parker and Miranda, take over early on while the other four narrators' perspectives disappear. Ending with one of its heroes troublingly wondering whether the terrorists may have made some valid points in terms of their beliefs, if not their methods, this fast-paced yet lackluster thriller fails to impress. The addition of a couple of twists to the story may lead readers to question whether mass shootings should ever be presented as entertainment.

Readers seeking thrillers that contain thoughtful social commentary should look elsewhere. (Thriller. 15-18)

Kirkus Reviews